Same Love
by TheRealityOfFantasy
Summary: Based on the song by Macklemore. Dean has to take his role as a father figure to an entirely new level when Ben discovers something about himself and doesn't know how to tell his mom.
1. Chapter 1

_Little seven year old Ben Braeden let out a small cry as his shoulder broke his fall on the school basketball court. He tried to ignore the steady trickle of blood seeping from his knee and looked up to see that he was completely surrounded by five boys twice his size. The bullying started when some kid in his class saw him drawing at recess instead of playing sports on the little team that they made. He ran up to Ben and called him a faggot, not even knowing what the word means. Of course, though, it hurt Ben's feelings, so he cried and told a teacher. That's what his mom always told him to do._

_"You go see a teacher if you have any problems, and then you tell me as soon as you get home."_

_Of course, the tears turned the little spark into a wildfire. Simple name-calling turned into serious verbal abuse, which turned into beatings, and poor little Ben had to go home and explain to Lisa why he had so many bruise, and why the black eye just wouldn't get better. How could it if it never had a chance to heal?_

_Somehow, Ben always managed to ignore the bullies enough that he could focus on school, and when he got home he would be able to lose all his problems in his artwork. That was his secret sanity; he was never any good at writing or playing instruments, so he expressed himself through the colored pencils that Lisa bought for him a few weeks earlier after seeing his unbelievable grades in art class. Ben found a passion in drawing, and it became habit every day after school. The pictures got more complex and detailed, and there was no more room on the refrigerator. Lisa started bringing them to work to show off her talented son, who gladly supplied her with new masterpieces daily. This was the case for a few months, until Brian, the leader of the group who was giving Ben so much trouble, saw one of Ben's sketchbooks sticking out of his backpack and decided he couldn't be seen within ten feet of a boy who would do something so...so _gay_. Ben didn't even try to fight as the little brat snatched the book and started tearing the pages, excessively mocking each one before shredding it and letting the pieces fall to the ground. Brian slammed his chubby fist into Ben's nose, spitting on his face as he warned him, "don't be such a faggot or we're gonna have more problems." Ben quickly nodded and got up, running down the street so he could explain to his mother what happened to his prized possession._

_What Ben didn't know was Lisa called the school, and Brian got in trouble with the teachers as well as his parents. Of course, he would have none of this. The next Monday, after the final bell rang and everyone was out of the teachers' care, Brian found Ben on the swing and pushed him off from behind. Ben looked up with a face full of woodchips._

_"You wanna explain?" Brian asked, fuming. Ben was too afraid to say anything and simply flinched as knuckles met cartilage, then cheek, chest, and finally Brian's foot landed where no boy ever wants a foot to land. Ben lay there writing on the ground and after a final kick at the vulnerable boy's stomach, Brian walked away, speaking without turning around._

_"Go home to your mommy and your gay-ass drawings. Faggot."_

_Lisa wasn't home when Ben got there, so he went up to his room to think about what Brian had said. Ben wasn't gay, was he? There had never been any girls he was particularly attracted to, but he was young and probably wouldn't recognize love anyway. And he surely didn't have those feelings for _boys._ Did he?_

_Lisa walked in and Ben didn't even have to say anything, he just walked up to her with tears in his eyes and fell into his mother's arms. She sat down right there on the floor, not even bothering to close the door, and pulled her bruised and broken son into her lap._

_"Mom?" he shuddered._

_"What is it, baby?"_

_"Do you think I'm gay?" Lisa's facial expression turned from concerned to confused in a matter of seconds._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Brian called me a faggot and I think maybe he's right." He looked down in shame, afraid that Lisa would be upset with him. Instead, she ran a hand through his short hair._

_"Don't be silly. Ben, you've loved girls since before Pre-K." She kissed his forehead and pulled him up, then closed the front door and headed towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's get some ice on that eye and then I'll start dinner." It wasn't the response he was hoping for, but she didn't seem to be mad at him. He followed her to the freezer and took an ice pack._

_After a while, Ben started thinking about what his mom told him, possibly a little too seriously. He encouraged himself that he couldn't be gay; he started playing on the school sports teams, and he was one of the best at baseball. By the time his eighth birthday came around, he had stopped drawing completely, started listening to 80s rock music (which Lisa wasn't exactly complaining about, and Ben honestly really liked it too), and he turned into a little lady's man. He flirted with everyone as well as he could, considering his age. _

_This was around the time Dean came around. Ben was excited to have a father figure in his life, and figured he could learn a few things from such a cool grown up. Dean taught him how to stand up for himself, and when Brian took the new DS that Ben had spent his own allowance money on, Dean told him how to get his game, as well as revenge. With a solid kick to Brian's groin, Ben walked away proudly, system in hand, and felt so proud of himself after turning around and seeing the look in Dean's eyes, like he had done well. Like he was tough, badass. Not gay._

_Not gay._


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, text books out. We're way behind the other periods because of all the absences and we need to catch up before midterms start. Hurry up now, or you're going to regret it tonight when you're all finishing this assignment for homework. You already have two chapters to study." Ben ignored the aggravated order from his teacher and balled up his jacket, placing it on his desk and using it as a makeshift pillow. He sat in the back of the room so no one would notice if he tried to catch up on all the sleep he had been missing at home.

Or so he thought, anyway.

"Benjamin, are you sleeping in my class? Does History bore you? I'm sorry I couldn't be more entertaining, but we have to get these things done. You can finish the assignment after school when you come for an hour of detention." _Shit._ Lisa would kill him, he knew it. First the drop in grades, then the fighting, but somehow he had managed to avoid getting any detentions. Until now, that is.

"Yes Sir." Ben held his head in his hands, wondering if things would get better any time soon. The problems from elementary school had sat on his shoulder like a little devil through the grades, and now in high school they intensified as the harsh words got more…descriptive and school became more stressful. Brian was still the worst offender, and called Ben names that he didn't even want to think about. Words that were based on a person's actual sexual orientation and had no original intent of being malicious, but the sneer that Brian threw in made them painful to hear. Plus the fact that Ben had come to realize Brian was right about everything he said. After years of denial, Ben admitted to himself, no one else but himself, that he was actually gay. Of course, now Brian suspected. And he had gotten tall and muscular, and the punches left more than bruises. He actually broke Ben's nose once, and it had to be re-broken at the hospital so it would heal correctly. Technically, he could just drop out next year and get away from the pit of bullies and stress that others called high school...

The scream of the bell snapped Ben out of his thoughts but he didn't bother going anywhere. It was eighth period and he had to stay for another hour anyway.

"Excuse me, Sir? I have to call my mom and let her know that I won't be home on time."

"Go out into the hallway and you can call her. Be quick about it." Ben nodded and stepped out, reluctantly dialing Lisa's number and bringing the phone up to his ear with one hand, wiping the sweat from the other on his jeans.

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ri-_

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom…Could you, could you possibly pick me up from school in an hour?" Ben tried to be a man about what was happening, just like Dean had taught him to do all those years ago. It was just one detention. But he knew his mother would be beyond upset.

"Why?" He could hear it in her voice; she knew he was in trouble. She was going to make him say it anyway.

"I got a detention in History, I fell asleep in class."

"Seriously, Ben? I'm getting tired of all this. And no, I can't pick you up. I have a dentist appointment in 45 minutes. You're going to have to walk home. And then you're staying home all night and for the rest of the weekend. I don't care if it's Friday. I'm done with all of these issues with you, Ben. The fighting, the grades, and now _detention?_ We're gonna talk when I get home later."

"Alright. I'm sorry, Mom." Lisa had already hung up. Sighing, Ben walked back into the classroom and took out his homework. He might as well get as much done as he could. With a groan, he began an hour of homework and studying for his least favorite subject, constantly being watched by his least favorite teacher.

"Alright, Ben. It's been an hour. You can go home now." Ben shook his head, realizing he had been spacing out for the past few minutes.

"Okay. I finished the work. Is it alright if I hand it in now?"

"Yes. I was going to take off points for your laziness in class today but it seems you've redeemed yourself. You'll get full credit." Ben sighed in relief. _That's one less thing for Mom to freak out about._

"Have a good day, Sir." Ben grabbed his backpack and rushed out the door, sliding down the railings in the stairwell to get to the first floor faster. He zipped up his jacket, bracing himself for the cold, long walk home. He stopped when he was only a few steps out the door, though, noticing something strange in the parking lot.

He only knew one person with a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dean?" Ben called across the parking lot. He saw the driver's door open and had to restrain himself from running across the parking lot and collapsing against Dean, happy to have the closest thing to a father back in his life. He walked over to the Impala, practically beaming.

"Hey, Ben. How you been, Kid?" Dean pulled Ben into a tight hug, letting go after a few seconds and motioning for him to get into the passenger seat.

"Not bad," Ben lied, though he knew he wouldn't get away with it and didn't know why he even bothered trying. The engine kicked on and the two were deafened by Metallica for a split second before Dean spun the knob and turned the radio off. As they drove off school property, the inquiry began.

"Ben, I stopped at your house before I came here. I wanted to check on you and your mom, and she told me that you had gotten into some trouble and that she couldn't pick you up because she had places to be. I figured if I was around you didn't have to walk all the way home. You wanna tell me what's been going on lately?" Ben sighed and tried to come up with something quickly in his head. He didn't want Dean to think he had turned into some crybaby, and he especially couldn't mention that he was _gay._

"It wasn't anything major. I fell asleep in class; teacher got mad and held me after school."

"Really? Because that doesn't sound like you at all. You're a smart kid, Ben, and your mom tells me your grades have gone down. A lot. You've always tried your best in school, so tell me what's happening." Dean met Ben's gaze and held it as he warned, "and don't lie to me. I lie for a living, so it's not worth it."

"You haven't been around for a while, so you kind of missed a lot," Ben started to explain. "Remember Brian?"

"That asshat that stole your game all those years ago? What about him?"

"Well, it didn't stop with the DS. He kept going after me, first just words but then it got physical again. And that kid's twice the size he was when we were kids, even after everything you taught me I don't stand a chance against him. And it went from a few punches or insults to everything at once. Every day. The beatings, the name- calling… Then between telling everything to Mom, icing my eye every day," Ben paused and motioned to his eye, which was still lightly bruised, "and just stressing about it constantly, I can't focus on school. It's too much." Even though Lisa wasn't home and wouldn't be for an hour, Dean didn't want to take any chance of breaking the conversation so he drove past the driveway and went up the next street over, pulling the car over by a small park. He didn't knowing exactly where he was heading but he didn't really care. He could easily find his way back.

"Have you done anything about this? Besides telling your mom?" Ben shook his head.

"Brian would kill me if I ratted him out, and it's bad enough already."

"Then make him afraid of you. All the things he calls you, faggot, gay, all that, just tell him that he's wrong about it and then scare him a little. Show him a little something from the arsenal in the trunk or something; give the kid a dose of fear to shut him up."

"Dean, I'm a student. Not a hunter. It doesn't work like that. I'd get suspended. And anyways…" he paused for a minute, scared about what he was going to tell Dean.

"And…?"

Ben's eyes were brimming with tears and he couldn't let Dean see that. Ducking his head, he mumbled, "About all those things that Brian calls me, all those names… he might not be wrong…"

Dean's eyes widened at this, then his face relaxed and he put a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"Look at me." He was met with a terrified expression and it hurt to see this kid, who had always been like a son to him, look so emotionally (and even physically) traumatized. "Benjamin Braeden," he said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, "tell me honestly right now. Are you gay?" Ben squeezed his eyes shut and nodded as the tears began spilling over. He cupped his face in his hands and cried like a baby in Dean's passenger seat.

"Calm down, alright?" Dean wrapped his arm around Ben's shoulders. "It's okay, no one's mad at you. Look at me," he said again, and again Ben raised his head. His eyes were red and he couldn't breathe out of his nose. Dean handed leaned forward and opened the glove compartment, handing him a tissue. Ben blew his nose and took a deep, shaky breath.

"You good now?" Ben nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Ben. There's nothing wrong with being gay. There are a lot of things that people can judge someone for, and that's not one of them. Besides everything that's been going on recently, all the stress you've been under, you're a great student. Right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You help your mom out when she needs it, most of the time without being asked. You're smart, not only in academics. You're an insane artist. Hell, you saved your mom's life once. You remember that? When I gave you my gun and you killed all those demons because she was dying and I had to carry her? You saved her, you saved me, and you saved yourself. You have all these great things about yourself that not a lot of people can say they have, Ben. You're a hero. And someone's going to give you shit because you like guys? I don't think so. There is nothing okay with that, _at all._" Another tear trailed down Ben's cheek and Dean wiped it away. "Have you told your mom about any of this yet?"

"I tried when I first started thinking about it, but she told me I was probably just letting Brian get to me and that there's no way I'm actually gay. I haven't brought it up again." Dean put the Impala into drive and stepped on the gas.

"Well, I think it's time you had a little talk with her." Ben's eyes widened.

"Dean, I'm scared. What if she gets mad at me? Or throws me out? There was a girl at school who had to move in with her aunt because her mom disowned her after she came out."

"Stop getting yourself worked up, alright? If I know your mom, she's not gonna get mad at you. It might take her a little while to get used to it, sure, but she loves you. She'll accept it, trust me."

"I hope so…"

"Ben, when you broke that vase a few years ago and you called me, what did I tell you?"

"Take it like a man…"

"That's right. And what did you do? With that mindset, telling yourself 'I don't know what's gonna happen but I'm going to tough it out,' you told her and things went fine. She wasn't even that mad. Now, I'm willing to bet the same thing's gonna happen here, alright, you're gonna walk in there and tell her what you told me, and she's gonna accept it. And I'm gonna be right there with you, okay?" Ben took a deep breath and nodded. Dean was right; anyways, he couldn't keep this from his mom forever.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Look, Ben, I know I've killed things and gone to hell and the whole nine yards, but this is a whole new chapter for me. I have no idea what it's like, but it can't be easy. So I'm proud of you. You might've let it get the best of you for a little while and you probably should've said something sooner, but I understand I'm not seeing this from your perspective so I can't really be the judge of that. But I do know that people let something like this completely take over their lives, and some people kill themselves over it. But you said something, so I'm proud of you for that." By then, they had pulled up in front of Lisa's house. Her car was in the driveway, so Dean pulled the key out of the ignition and opened his door.

"Dean?" Ben said as they were walking up the driveway.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


	4. Chapter 4

Ben didn't even have a chance to close the front door before Lisa went off on him.

"Benjamin Isaac Braeden, I am extremely disappointed in you. You have never gotten a detention in your life, and you're going to start _now_? I don't think so! If you get one more detention, or God help you if you get a suspension, just _one-_"

"Lisa!" Dean cut her off, standing behind Ben and putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Before you scream the kid's head off, stop for a second and listen to his side of the story." He looked down at Ben expectantly, waiting for him to repeat the conversation they had had back in the car. Ben seemed to be frozen in place, though, opening his mouth to speak and then rethinking. He looked up at Dean with wide, pleading eyes, unsure of how to start the conversation.

"It's okay, just tell her."

Lisa's gaze shifted between them, questioning. "Tell me what?"

"Let's go sit in the living room," Dean suggested. He led them in and sat down on the couch with Ben, while Lisa took the one across from them.

"What's going on?"

Ben took a shaky breath. "Mom… do you remember when everything with Brian started a few years ago? When he started calling me all those names, and I told you I thought he was right?"

"Yeah? Ben, what's going on?"

"Well, that thought never really went away." Lisa looked puzzled for a second before the realization hit her.

"Are you telling me…" she paused, wanting to hear the words come from her son so she knew she wasn't overthinking.

"Mom, I… I like guys. I'm, I'm gay." Ben looked as though he was mentally preparing himself for the worst. His eyes brimmed with tears and he hung his head, scared to even see Lisa's face after what he said. _She's disappointed in me, I know it…_

He looked up out of the corner of his eye and saw a tear moving down Lisa's cheek, and it felt like his heart sank into his stomach. "Mom… why are you crying? Are you mad at me? I'm sorry, if it's because I like boys, or because I didn't tell you sooner, Mom, I'm… I'm really sorry…"

His panic turned to confusion and then finally relief, though, when Lisa moved over to the couch that he was on and pulled him into her arms. With all three of them crammed on the cushions meant for two, he started really crying, half leaning on his mother and half on Dean. But this time he wasn't crying from fear or stress. He was letting out the tears he had been holding in since he and Dean walked through the front door, the tears he couldn't let out before. All of the tension lifted and he let himself relax, practically melting into his mom's embrace.

"I'm crying because I messed up, Ben," she choked out between sobs. "You were going through all this stress and all I did was yell at you, I never thought about it or tried to help, and I let my baby boy down. I'm so sorry…" Ben wrapped his arms tighter around Lisa.

"I'm so sorry. Ben, I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention to what was happening, I should've done a better job. I love you, sweetie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she wiped the tears off of her son's face and pulled him closer. Dean wrapped them both up in his arms and held them for what seemed like forever, rubbing Ben's shoulder and placing a soft kiss in Lisa's hair. This was definitely an issue that concerned the two of them more than it did him, but he was there so he needed to help in some way. This _was _his family, biologically or not.

Ben wiped his eyes and began to pull away from the mess of limbs and tears. Just like when he was eight years old and Dean taught him how to get his game back from Brian (though Lisa wasn't too happy about seeing the kid writing in pain grabbing his crotch), Ben hugged Dean, his hands gripping the fabric of the rough jacket. And just like all those years ago, he gave a simple, "thanks." And just like all those years ago, Dean replied with a hand on his shoulder and a smirk, saying all of the fatherly words that Ben needed to hear without really saying anything at all.


End file.
